Lecture 7 Communication For Various Purposes

Purposive Communication for College Freshmen
Chapter 7
COMMUNICATION FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES
Communication—in written
form, face-to-face, or through such
media as television and the Internet
—is a ―social process‖ involving
―the transfer of information and
understanding from one person to
another person‖ (Kreitner, p. 300).
As an essential life skill, the ability
to communicate for various
purposes is something every
student should endeavor to learn
and hone. At every stage of a student‘s life, and even beyond that, the
skill and the knowledge to communicate, to acquire and convey
information, and to persuade and argue are not only necessary but
indispensable.
There are numerous theories attempting to explain the nature
of communication and identify its elements. But the most commonly
cited definition involves the process of a sender with an idea
encoding a message, which is then sent through a medium or channel
until it reaches a receiver, who decodes the message and sends back a
feedback.
In his book titled “Ted Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public
Speaking,” Chris Anderson, head of TED, a not-for-profit organization
―devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful
talks (18 minutes or less),‖ explains how speakers manage to affect or
influence their audience (in his example 1,200 people are listening to a
TED Talks speaker):
―The 1,200 brains inside the heads of 1,200 independent

individuals start to behave very strangely. They begin to sync up.
B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 187

A magic spell woven by the woman washes over each They gasp
together. Laugh together. Weep together. And as they
do so, something else happens. Rich, neurologically encoded
patterns of information inside the woman‘s brain are somehow
copied and transferred to the 1,200 brains in the audience. These
patterns will remain in those brains for the rest of their lives,
potentially impacting their behavior years into the future.‖
What happens during a TED Talks event is an ―astounding‖

example of the seemingly magical power of oral communication or
public speaking to share information and to persuade.
Stephen E. Lucas, author of “The Art of Public Speaking,‖ said
that we should not be surprised that people value public speaking
because ―throughout the history of Western civilization, this art has
been a vital means of communication.‖ He added that ―In modern
times, many men and women have spread their ideas and influence
largely by public speaking.‖
As a student, you are expected to give presentations and speak
in front of different audiences. In almost all the courses that you will
take up in college, you will be assigned to do research on certain
topics and report on them in front of your fellow students. If you run
for a position in the student body, you will be obliged to deliver
speeches as you persuade the student-electorate to vote for you. After
graduation, the same demands for public speaking will be expected
from you. The skill of public speaking, therefore, is as essential as the
ability to write or read or count.
Therefore, how do you develop your ability for public
speaking? Preparing a speech is not unlike preparing yourself to
write an essay. In essay writing, a writer follows these steps:
prewriting, drafting, and revising (or editing/proofreading). In
speech making, there are also pre-writing activities that you need to
follow. Stephen E. Lucas identifies these steps as: (1) selecting a topic
and purpose, (2) analyzing your audience, and (3) gathering the
materials that you will need to prepare your speech.

 Selecting Your Topic and Identifying Your Purpose
If the speech that you will make is in the context of a classroom

assignment, then the topic will be most likely given by your professor
and the purpose identified by him. There are two general reasons (or
purposes) for why a person, such as you, is going to deliver a speech.
One reason is to inform your audience about something and the other
reason is to persuade them to a certain belief or attitude.
Explaining to your audience how a computer works is
informational but telling them how capitalism is better than socialism
is persuasive. Delivering an oral report in class about the meaning
and functions of management, for example, is oral communication for
the purpose of providing information, but when, in the same report,
you argue that it is easier to understand the nature of management
through an analysis of managerial skills than that of functions, you
are communicating for the purpose of persuasion, that is, you are
trying to convince your fellow classmates that they should adopt your
idea or belief.
There are speeches, however, that are so subtly crafted that,
even though they sound like informational speeches, they are in fact
persuasive speeches. Take for instance the speeches delivered by
Steve Jobs, Apple‘s co-founder and former CEO, during launches of
Apple products. They were deceptively informational, but the effect
is brilliantly persuasive. In these presentations, Jobs seemed to be
simply describing Apple products (Ipod, Iphone, among other
gadgets), but in fact they were marketing pitches as Jobs tried to sell
his products to the audience.
Choosing a topic can make or break your talk. In choosing a
topic, you must decide whether it is interesting enough for you that
you can hurdle all the challenges that you will face in preparing it.
But even if you find your topic to be worthwhile, the next question to
ask yourself is if you have the capability to see through the process.
Do you have the expertise in the subject area you will be doing a talk
about? Or, at the very least, do you know enough about the subject?
Another important thing to remember in selecting a subject is
that it should be narrow enough for you to be able to explore it with
reasonable depth. A rule in topic selection in essay writing is ―Write

more about less.‖ No doubt this is applicable in speech writing as

well.
Just like a topic, the purpose for a talk can also be general and
specific. To inform is an example of a general purpose while To explain
to my audience how psychoanalytic reading is done is an instance of a
specific purpose. The purpose will guide the speakers how they will
prepare everything. The talk will be shaped by its purpose. According
to Lucas (1989), ―formulating a specific purpose is the most
important early step in developing a successful speech.‖ He provides
five general principles in writing a purpose statement.
1. Write the purpose statement as a full infinitive phrase, not

as a fragment. Do not write The parts of a computer but rather
write To inform my audience of the different parts of a desktop
computer.
2. Express your purpose as a statement, not as a question. Do

not write What is a bitcoin but rather write To inform my
audience of the nature of bitcoins.
3. Avoid figurative language in your purpose statement.
To persuade
Don’t : my audience
that
water. invalidating
the exam
because some of
Do : the test takers
have cheated is
like throwing out the baby with the bath
To persuade my audience that invalidating the

exam because some of the test takers have cheated
is an unfair punishment on most of the test takers
simply because a few of them have violated the
rules.

4. Limit your purpose

statement to one distinct
Don’t : idea.
To persuade
my audience
that computer
Do’s : addiction
among
teenagers is
due to lack of attention by parents and that broken
homes are the result of one parent being unfaithful
to another.
To persuade my audience that computer addiction

among teenagers is due to lack of attention by
parents.
To persuade my audience that broken

homes are the result of one parent being unfaithful
to another.
5. Make sure your specific
Don’t: purpose is not too vague

Criticism.
or general. To inform my
Do: audience about New
To
inform my
audience about how close reading is the foundation
of New Criticism.
In addition to these principles, Lucas (1989) also

suggested five questions that you should ask yourself when you
are preparing for a talk. These questions are:

1. Does my purpose meet the assignment? If you think it does

not and you have questions, do not hesitate to ask your
professor. For example, if your professor requires you to
deliver a report on the nature of public relations, the issue of
whether or not PR as a profession is healthy for society can
crop up. You can ask your professor if s/he wants you to
include your opinion on the matter. In this case, the purpose
of your oral report is no longer informative but persuasive
as well.
2. Can I accomplish my purpose in the time allotted? In

delivering a talk or an oral
report, one important factor
that you cannot ignore is
time limit. TED Talks, the
most famous public
speaking event, requires its
speakers to deliver ―short,
powerful talks‖ in 18
minutes or less. To meet this
all-so-important demand,
you must come up with a
realistic topic and a realistic purpose. A topic and a purpose
such as this—To inform my audience about the evolution of
communication technology beginning from the ancient period to
the present—is obviously too ambitious for an 18-minute talk
unless you are willing to run the risk of giving an
incomplete picture of your topic.
3. Is the purpose relevant to my audience? What will be your

audience‘s takeaway from your talk? If there is none, then
your talk loses its relevance to your audience. When that
happens, you will not only waste your time but also that of
your audience. In addition, your talk will most likely fail
because your audience will find it boring. They will fidget in
their seats and wish that you were never born. To make you
talk interesting to your audience, make it relevant.

4. Is the purpose too trivial for my audience? Earlier we

mentioned that when you give a talk your topic should not
be too broad or complicated. However, this does not mean
that you will oversimplify to the point that your purpose
becomes too trivial for your audience. You must strike the
fine balance between superficial and complicated.
5. Is the purpose too technical for my audience? Sometimes in

our eagerness to impress our professor we choose a topic
and a purpose that is too technical for our intended
audience. To persuade my audience that the use of objective
correlative is inherent in Japanese haikus is an example of a
technical purpose. Much like a trivialized purpose a
tootechnical purpose can easily lose the interest of your
audience. But it can be done. In the example above, you can
start by defining what ―objective correlative‖ is and then
proceed to cite examples of its use in poems before tackling
the big question of how it is useful in Japanese haikus.
 Analyzing Your Audience
When you are a swimmer and you are about to dive into the pool,
the first thing that you will do is to check how deep the water is. The
same is true when giving a talk in front of a group of people. You
must analyze your audience before you even open your mouth. This
is important because without an understanding of your audience, you
will not be able to address them properly.
The reason we communicate is that we have a message to convey,
and that there are people who want to or are willing to listen to us.
The importance of our audience cannot be overstated. It is therefore
imperative that we learn as much as we can about our audience even
before we start working on our talk. But how do we analyze our
audience?
Lucas (1989) identifies two methods of analysis for audience:
(1) demographic audience analysis and (2) situational audience analysis.

1. Demographic analysis, as the word implies, involves

analyzing your audience in terms of their demographics
such as sex/gender, age, racial/ethnic/cultural background,
group membership, and income. To use this method, you
need to do two things: (1) identify the demographics of your
audience and (2) assess the significance of these
demographics to your speaking situation.
The importance of sex as a demographic feature to be
considered in speaking situations is made plain by an
example by Lucas. He said that an art major landed a dream
job of conducting tours for people through galleries and talk
about the art collection in them. In one of his talks, he kept
referring to the artists of the collection as ―he,‖ prompting
one of the tourists to point out to him that five paintings in
the gallery had been created by women.
―This illustrates,‖ says Lucas (1989), ―a problem that
continues to plague speakers in all fields.‖ He adds: ―We
think of our times as enlightened, but we still encounter
people who automatically refer to artists or doctors as ‗he‘
and to grade-school teachers or nurses as ‗she.‘ A speaker
who makes such remarks is almost certain to offend some
members of the audience.‖
Religion is another hot-button issue that you, as a speaker,
can unwittingly push, launching an uncalled-for controversy
and alienating your audience. Since almost everybody
belongs to a particular religious group or beliefsystem,
asserting the righteousness of your own religion can almost
certainly trigger negative reactions from your audience.
Racial/ethnic and cultural background is also an
important demographic information that can spell the
success or failure of your talk. Ethnocentrism is the belief
that one‘s ethnic group—Kapampangan, Ilocano, Cebuano,
Tagalog, among other ethnic groups—is superior to others.
If you show ethnocentrism in your talk you run the risk of
earning the ire of your audience. Remember that culture is
relative and no culture is better than another, even though
the latter may be described as a primitive culture. Plan your
speech guided by a strong conviction to respect all cultures
and the people that belong in them.

2. Situational audience analysis, on the other hand, involves

identifying ―traits of the audience unique to the speaking
situation at hand.‖ These traits ―include the size of the
audience, attitudes influenced by the physical setting, and
the disposition of the audience toward the subject, the
speaker and the occasion.‖
In theories of communication, the message is sent by
the sender through the medium amid noise. Noise is
anything that prevents the message from being sent to the
receiver or from being decoded by the receiver. An example
of noise is static caused by interfering electrical signal when
you make a cellular phone call. Another is when the
physical setup in the room where you are slated to talk is so
arranged that communicating with your audience is bound
to become a challenge, to say the least. A room without
sound proofing against the noise in the street outside is an
example of physical or environmental noise.
Size can also be a kind of noise or interference that
can prevent communication to take place properly. Too
large an audience is a challenge for a speaker, but with the
aid of technology the problem can be surmounted. More
importantly, when you address a huge group you need to be
more formal in your presentation to make a maximum
impact on your audience.
Aside from the size of your audience and the
physical setting of your talk, you need to consider three
other things in your analysis of audience: (1) your listeners‘
interest in the topic of your talk, (2) their knowledge about
your topic, and (3) their attitude toward your topic.
In a classroom setting, when you give a speech you
have a captive audience: your classmates. In the ―real‖
world (e.g., corporate world) when you give a speech,
people will attend to listen to your talk because they need it
in their work or they are interested in your talk. Even if
people are not interested in your talk, you can make it
interesting by relating it to your audience‘s needs and
interests. In a classroom speech, for instance, if you want
your audience to become interested in your talk, you have to
make them see right away how it is going to be relevant to

their lives as students.
But interested or not, your audience needs to be
understood in terms of another factor: their knowledge of
your topic. It is important for you to know how much they
know about your topic because it will shape many aspects of
your talk: style, complexity or simplicity, and details. If,
after studying them, you learned that many members of
your audience are not familiar with your topic, you can vary
your planned style of delivery and make it more
―userfriendly‖ without being condescending. You can also
add more examples to illustrate your points. Likewise, you
need to use a language that is easily understood and try to
avoid the jargon of your profession.
Sometimes, it happens that speakers are not popular
with their audiences simply because of the nature of their
profession or line of work. In other words, the audience is
not predisposed to believe, or even listen to, the speakers. A
lawyer (defending a notorious crime suspect) who is about
to give a talk about why s/he does what s/he does for a
living may pique the interest of some people. However, it is
more likely to happen that s/he will generate a certain
degree of hostility from the audience even before s/he
stands in front of
the rostrum to deliver a
speech. This is an extreme
example, but the point is
this: You need to
assess if your
audience is disposed toward
believing (or liking/loving)
your talk or hating you and
your guts for even
appearing before them. You need to adjust many aspects of
your talk accordingly.
A rumbling speech, for instance, before an audience
that is not predisposed to listen is obviously a disaster on
top of another.

You should also consider in your analysis of

audience the occasion for your speech. There are occasions in which
certain topics are taboo. The ban may be explicit or implied. In a
purely religious situation, for example, to talk about politics,
especially if the details are polarizing, is almost certainly rude. Being
unaware of the set of values being collectively upheld by the audience
in a given situation can almost certainly cause your speech to fail.
 Gathering the Materials for Your Speech
Now that you know a lot about your audience, you can proceed to
gathering the materials for your speech. There are three ways you can
do this: (1) by reflecting on your own knowledge and experiences; (2)
by interviewing other people; (3) by doing library and computer-
aided research.
 Self-reflection
Earlier in this chapter, we suggested
that in choosing a topic for your talk you
should consider your own familiarity, if not
expertise, of the topic. This is important
because in the gathering of materials for your
talk you need to go inward into yourself. You
are the first stop in your search for
information.
Your knowledge and your experiences are major sources of materials. You
need to make use of them.  Interview
Interviewing has been one of the most popular methods of

gathering data. It involves two people sharing their views, hence,
―inter‖ and ―viewing.‖ Steinar Kvale (1996), in his book InterViews,
explains the importance of interviewing:
―If you want to know how people understand their world and their
life, why not talk with them? In an interview conversation, the

researcher listens to what people themselves tell about their lived world,

hears them express their views and opinions in their own words, learns
about their views on their work situation and family life, their dreams
and hopes.‖
Interviewing as a research technique, Kvale (1996) adds,

―attempts to understand the world from the subjects‘ points of view,
to unfold the meaning of peoples‘ experiences, to uncover their lived
world prior to scientific explanations.‖
Lucas (1989) identifies four circumstances in which the use of
personal interview ―can be the most effective means of gathering
material‖:
1. When you want up-to-the-minute information;
2. When you need information about a fairly narrow subject
that might not attract newspaper or other printed coverage;
3. When you have access to a person who has specialized
knowledge about a subject and is willing to share that
knowledge; and
4. When a particular person‘s viewpoint will add interest and
force to your speech.
In conducting your interview, it will be most fruitful to heed

the advice of Carole Rich (2010), a well-known writing coach.
According to her, you should:
1. Concentrate on what the person you are interviewing is

saying and not on what you will ask next. This ensures
that you are catching everything that is being said and that
you are showing respect for the interviewee by paying
close attention. You can probably jot down notes
occasionally if a question crosses your mind but do it
quickly and unobtrusively.
2. Listen attentively as you would when you listen to a friend

telling you an interesting story. Your next question should
be based on your interviewee‘s last statement. If you want
to move to another topic, do it without cutting off the
interviewee in mid-sentence and without offending him or

her. For example, preface you sentence with a transition: By

the way, … or On another subject ….
3. Think critically when you listen. If you are not sure about
something, do not hesitate to ask your interviewee to repeat
what s/he has said. Try to control the flow of conversation
when you think your source is rambling.
4. Stay quiet. Do not outtalk you source. Do not show that

you are smarter than s/he is and that what s/he is saying is
nonsense. If you think the source is not making any sense
anymore, ask for clarification and listen quietly.
5. Maintain eye contact with your source. Nod to show you

are listening. Make her/him feel that you are giving
complete attention.
6. “Listen” to visual signals such as fidgeting, frowning, etc.

They will tell you more than words about what your source
is feeling. In other words, listen with your eyes.
7. Be polite in everything. If your source is rambling or

incoherence, do not cut her or him off abruptly and
brusquely. Wait for her or him to pause before you move to
change the subject.
8. Be curious. Do not pretend that you are because it will

sooner or later show. Remember, it is going to be your
speech that will make use of all the information that you
will gather in the interview. In the end, it will be you as
speaker who will benefit.
 Library and Computer-Aided Research
In preparing for a
presentation, students tend to ignore
the value of the library. To many
students, the library is a place to
avoid especially because of the

dreaded librarians, who are often depicted in popular culture as strict

and fearsome. But this should not be the case. On the contrary, the
library as source of materials for your speech is without equal. It
houses
almost everything that you will need as a speaker researching on
your topic, especially today when modern librarians have access to
the Internet.
To maximize your stay in the library you should know
beforehand how to navigate its nooks and crannies. You should know
how to approach the librarians (they are there to help you, believe it
or not) and how to use the card catalogue. Using the card catalogue
does not only allow you to find what you are looking for but also
allow you to save time looking for books and other materials.
 Putting Together Your Speech
In writing an essay, you need to follow the structure that has been
handed down as the convention of the genre. The structure contains
three basic parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Your
speech will basically follow this structure.
To be readable and easily understood your speech must be organized
in a certain way. Organization is crucial. Without it, your speech will
most likely confuse and bore your audience. Organization is
structure.

Just how organization is important is demonstrated by two studies

mentioned by Lucas (1989). In one study, the researcher, a college
professor, had a well-organized speech scrambled. He then had the
two speeches (organized and scrambled) delivered. He learned that,
not surprisingly, the audience understood more the organized speech
than the scrambled one. In another research conducted in another
school by two professors, the audience were asked about their
attitudes toward the speakers of the organized and the scrambled
speeches. They learned that ―the people who heard the well-
organized speech believed the speakers to be much more competent
and trustworthy than those who heard the scrambled speech.‖
Lucas has this to say on the ability to organize speeches: This ability
is especially vital for speechmaking. Listeners demand coherence.
They have little patience with speakers who bounce wildly from idea
to idea. Keep in mind that listeners—unlike readers— cannot flip
back to a previous page if they trouble grasping a speaker‘s idea. In
this respect a speech is much like a movie. Just as a director must
guarantee that viewers can follow the plot of a film from beginning to
end, so must a speaker. Be sure listeners can follow the progression of
ideas in a speech from beginning to end. This requires that speeches
be organized strategically. They should be put together in particular
ways to achieve particular results with particular audiences.
To organize your speech,

Main you need to have your
Points : main points, which,
according to Lucas, is ―the
central features of your speech.‖
For a speech with information as your purpose you can have the
following main points:
• Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the uses of computer graphics

cards.
• General Idea: The important uses of graphics cards are to boost
performance of computers for dedicated applications and to increase

the effectiveness and efficiency of cryptocurrency mining.
• Main Points:
1. Graphic cards are used to boost the performance of computers for
dedicated applications.
2. Graphic cards are used to mine cryptocurrencies.
For a speech with persuasion as your purpose you can have the
following main points:
• Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that wearing their school ID‘s

is important because it shows their pride in their school, it helps in
maintaining a safe and secure environment in the school and it teaches
the students to become law-abiding citizens.
• General Idea: Wearing school ID‘s is important because it shows the
students‘ pride in their school, it helps in maintaining a safe and secure
environment in the school and it teaches them to become law-abiding
citizens.
• Main Points:
1. Wearing a school ID is important because it shows the students‘
pride in their school.
2. Wearing a school ID is important because it helps in maintaining a
safe and secure environment in the school.
3. Wearing a school ID is important because it teaches the students to

become law-abiding citizens.

 Patterns of Organization
To organize your main points, you can use the following

patterns of organization: (1) chronological order; (2) spatial order; (3)
causal order; (4) problem-solution order; and (5) topical order.
A chronologically-ordered speech follows a time pattern. When you
tell a story in your speech, it is best to use the chronological order
because a story told from beginning to end is easier to understand
than one that is told haphazardly.
An informational speech that details your rise from being an ordinary
freshman student to being the president of the University Student
Council in your senior year is best told using the chronological order of
arranging your facts. You can probably begin with the day a fellow
freshman student asked you to attend a meeting of the USC and how, from the
single moment, you fell in love with student leadership.
The chronological order is also used in explaining a process or
showing how to do something such as assembling a bicycle or a
personal computer (PC).
When you talk about the parts of a PC, you need to start from a
particular part. For example, you can begin with the central
processing unit (CPU) and then move on to the other parts. The
sequence may be from top to bottom or vice versa. This is called
spatial order. Discussing how you can get from point A to point B on
a map is an example of using spatial order.
While you can use the chronological order and the spatial order of
ideas in persuasive speech, you will more likely benefit from the use
of the causal order as you argue your case before an audience.
―Speeches arranged in causal order organize main points so as to
show a cause-effect relationship,‖ explains Lucas. In speeches
arranged in causal order, you have two main points. One main point
is focused on the cause(s) and the other main point on the effect(s).
For example, if your purpose is to persuade your audience that
playing computer games more than two hours a day is detrimental to
their well-being, then you should start with the cause and argue your
way toward the effects.

Speeches can also be arranged by, first, identifying a problem, and

then proposing a solution. This is called the problem-solution order.
• Specific Purpose: To persuade teachers to keep upgrading what they know

in their field of academic discipline.
• Main Points:
1. Teachers have not kept abreast of developments in their fields of
academic disciplines, to the detriment of their students.
2. Teachers should be required to earn credit points by attending

seminars before their license to teach can be renewed.
Finally, speeches can be arranged according to topical order.

Lucas explains how you can do this: Topical order results when you
divide the speech topic into subtopics, each of which becomes a main
point in the speech. The main points are not part of the chronological,
spatial, causal, or problem-solution sequence, but are simply parts of
the whole.
• Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the four basic structural

elements of an HTML document.
• Central Idea: The four basic structural elements of an HTML document are
the document declaration, the <html> element, the <head> element, and
the <body> element.
• Main Points:
1. The <doctype html> document declaration tells the Internet browser that
the document is an HTML.
2. The <html> element wraps the entire document in HTML.

3. The <head> element holds metadata associated with the page like the
description of the page or the text that appears in a browser title bar.
4. The <body> element holds all the content displayed in a browser.
Talk Tools from TED in his book “Ted Talks: The Official TED Guide to
Public Speaking,” Chris Anderson gives us five things to remember
when we give speeches.
First, ―Knowledge cannot be pushed into a brain ‖ and thus ―has to be
pulled in.‖ He adds:
―Before you can build an idea in someone else‘s mind, you

need their permission. People are naturally cautious about
opening up their minds—the most precious thing they
own —to complete strangers. You need to find a way to
overcome that caution. And the way you do that is to make
visible the human being cowering inside you.‖ Anderson
says you need to ―get personal‖ with your audience to
establish connection with them. You need to: (1) make eye
contact, right from the start; (2) disarm you audience by
revealing your own vulnerability; (3) make your audience
laugh through humor; (4) do not bring your ego on stage;
and (5) tell a story.
Second, telling a story is so crucial in speeches that it needs a more
detailed discussion here. Anderson says that ―the human mind
coevolved with storytelling,‖ adding that ―many of the best talks are
anchored on storytelling.‖
And when it comes to telling a story on stage, Anderson bids us to
remember the following:
1. Base in on a character your audience can empathize with.
2. Build tension, whether through curiosity, social intrigue, or
actual danger.
3. Offer the right level of detail. Too little and the story is not
vivid. Too much and it gets bogged down.
4. End with a satisfying resolution, whether funny, moving, or
revealing.

Anderson illustrates his point by comparing the following two ways of

telling the same story.
Here is an ineffective way of telling the story.
I learned trust from my father when I was eight years old and we got caught
in a storm while out fishing for mackerel. We failed to catch a single one
before the storm hit. Dad knew the boat was going to sink, because it was one
of those Saturn brand inflatable boats, which are usually pretty strong, but
this one had been punctured one and Dad thought it might happen again. In
any case, the storm was too big for an inflatable boat and it was already
leaking. So, he called the Coast Guard rescue service, who, back then, were
available 24/7, unlike today. He told them our location, and then, to avoid the
risk of getting trapped underwater, he put a life jacket on me and threw me
overboard before jumping in himself. We then waited for the
Coast Guard to come and, sure enough, 15 minutes later the helicopter
showed up – I think it was a Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk—and we were fine.
Here is the effective version:

Once, when I was eight years old, my father took me fishing. We were
in a tiny boat, five miles from shore, when a massive storm blew in. Dad put a
life jacket on me and whispered in my ear, ―Do you trust me, son? ‖ I nodded.
He threw me overboard. [pause] I kid you not. Just tossed me over! I hit the
water and bobbed up to the surface, gasping for breath. It was shockingly
cold. The waves were terrifying. Monstrous. Then … Dad dived in after me.
Continuation:
We watched in horror as our little boat flipped and sank. But he was holding
me the whole time, telling me it was going to be OK. Fifteen minutes later, the
Coast Guard helicopter arrived. It turned out that Dad knew the boat was
damaged and was going to sink, and he had called them without exact
location. He guessed it was better to chuck me in the open sea than risk
getting trapped when the boat flipped. And that is how I learned the true
meaning of the word trust.

Third, learn to explain difficult concepts by: (1) starting your talk
right; (2) making your audience curious; (3) bringing in concept one
by one; (4) using metaphor; and (5) using examples. To illustrate,
Anderson used a TED talk by Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert, who
successfully explained to his audience the concept of ―synthesized
happiness.‖
Gilbert began his talk by
―starting right.‖ He said: ―When you
have 21 minutes to speak, two million
years seems like a really long time.‖
This remark drew laughter and caught
the attention of the audience.
Continuing, he said:
―But evolutionarily, two million years is nothing. And yet in two million
years, the human brain has nearly tripled in mass, going from the one and-
a-quarter-pound brain of our ancestor here, [Homo] habilis, to the almost
three-pound meatloaf that everybody here has between their ears.
What is it about a big brain that nature was so eager for every one of us to
have one?‖
Gilbert‘s question sparked the curiosity of the audience,

causing them to wait for more. However, when he brings out the
concepts that he wanted to explain, he did so one by one. He started
with prefrontal cortex, and then experience simulator, until he was able
to explain synthesized happiness. In explaining ―experience simulator‖
he used the metaphor of flight simulator to make it easier for his
audience to understand. And along the way he uses examples.
Fourth, persuasion means ―convincing an audience that the
way they currently see the world is not quite right. ‖ This is done by
―taking down the parts that are not working, as well as rebuilding
something better.‖ In other words, you reason to ―change minds
forever.‖

How do you do this seemingly gargantuan task? Anderson

explains that priming is ―the key to prompting that worldview shift
is to take the journey one step at a time, preparing our minds in
several different ways before getting to the main argument. ‖ Priming
―is not a rigorous argument; it is simply a way of nudging someone
in your direction,‖ he says. He cites, as example, the speech by
psychologist Barry Schwartz who in his TED talk successfully built
the case that ―in numerous circumstances, too much choice actually
makes us unhappy.‖ Schwartz primed his talk through the following:
There was a time when jeans came in one flavor, and you thought them,
and they fit like crap, they were really uncomfortable, but if you wore
them and washed them enough times, they started to feel OK. I went to
replace my jeans after years of wearing these old ones, and I said, ―I
want a pair of jeans. Here‘s my size.‖ And the shopkeeper said, ―Do you
want slim fit, easy fit, relaxed fit? You want button fly or zipper fly? You
want stonewashed or acid -washed? Do you want them distressed? You
want boot cut, tapered, blah blah blah.‖
By showing his stress over too many choices, Schwartz primed

his audience to what he was about to say. He made what he would
later on point out – about too many choices making us unhappy
instead of the other way around – obvious and natural.
Lastly, the most direct way of telling your audience about your
idea is to show it. Anderson calls it ―revelation. ‖ You can do this in
three broad ways:
1. The Wonder Walk. It is a talk based on the revelation of a

succession of images or wonder moments. In this approach,
you build a sense of wonder in your audience. You can
arrange your images in such a way that the next one will be
highly anticipated. A 5-minute TED talk by David Gallo, a
geologist, about the awe-inspiring animals under the sea
showed the power of carefully arranged images to deliver
your talk.
2. The Dynamic Demo. If what you are revealing is not just
visual, Anderson says, if it is a technology or a process or an
invention, then you need the audience to see it works. You
need a demonstration. An example is a talk by inventor

Markus Fischer. Instead of describing his invention—a robot

seagull that flies like a true one—he made it fly, to the
amazement of the audience.
3. The Dreamscape. ―Some of the most powerful speeches in

history have been powerful precisely because they
communicated a dream with irresistible eloquence and
passion,‖ says Anderson. This ―ability to pattern the world
in our minds and then re-pattern it to create a world that
does not actually exist but someday might‖ is ―so important
a skill that we have multiple words to label its different
flavors: imagination, invention, innovation, design, vision.‖
There are many ways by which you can share your dreams:
words, images, demonstrations. A very appropriate example
is Martin Luther King Jr.‘s 1963 speech at the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington, D.C. about his dream that
someday all people, regardless of race, would be truly equal.
 Email Messages and Memos
The coming of the Internet era ushered in new technologies that

made communication in the workplace more effective and efficient.
An example of a digital technology that revolutionized how we send
and receive messages is the electronic mail or email. It is, according to
Guffey (2008), ―the communication channel of choice for exchanging
information within organization.‖
 Stages of Writing an Email Message or Memo
How do we write email messages and memos? There are three

stages (Guffey, 2008):
1. Analysis, anticipation, and adaptation
2. Research, organization, and composition
3. Revision, proofreading, and evaluation
In the first stage, which is equivalent to the more familiar term

prewriting, you ask yourself the following questions: Do you really

need to write the email message or memo? Should you send your
message as email or should you simply say it face-to-face? What is the
purpose of your message? How will the receiver of your email
message or memo react? How can you save your reader‘s time (that
is, should you use bullets or asterisks to list the things you want to
say?
In stage two, you make an outline of your message or memo
and you list down the ideas you want to send. Remember that each
idea or assertion or claim that you will write needs supporting
details.
In the third stage, you revise for clarity and correctness and be
ready for feedback. When you revise, take the point of view of your
prospective readers. Ask yourself: If I were the reader, would the message
or memo be clear to me? Finally, do not forget to include in your email
message a line or two asking for your reader‘s feedback.
 Parts of the Email Message or Memo
An email message or memo has the following parts:
1. Sender Line. This is where the name and email address of the
sender is written.
2. Receiver Line. This is where the name and email address of the
recipient of your message or memo is written.

3. Date Line. This is where the date: day, month, year, and
time, is written.
4. Subject Line. This is where the subject of your email message
or memo is written. The subject should not be a one-word
heading and should contain a verb. For example, the subject
Juan dela Cruz or Appointment is unclear, but the subject Juan
dela Cruz is appointed IT manager is clear.
5. Opening. For non-sensitive information you can be direct.
For example: Please prepare for a visit by the schools division
superintendents of Central Luzon who will evaluate our
compliance with the “No Student Left Behind” program of the
Department of Education.
6. Body. This is where the author of the email message or
memo writes the reasons for writing and explains the
message thoroughly.
7. Closing. This part, according to Guffey (2008) generally ends
with (a) action information, dates or deadlines; (b) a
summary of the message; or (c) a closing thought.
Example:
From: ELS Department CASS TSU <els-cass@tsu.edu.my> SENDER LINE

To: Fernando Ramos <fernando.ramos@yahoo.com> RECEIVER LINE
Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2018 2:52 PM DATE LINE
Subject: Re: [ELS] Invitation: 4th Student Research Conference SUBJECT LINE
Dr. Fernando Campo Ramos: OPENING
The English Language Studies (ELS) Department of the College of Arts and Social
Sciences, Tarlac State University will be holding the 4th Student Research Conference
on May 3, 2017 from 8:00 a.m-5:00 p.m. at the Alumni Center, Lucinda Campus,
Tarlac City.
The primary objective of this activity is to evaluate five theses from the 4 th year AB
ELS students for the search for the Best Thesis award. Toward this end, the
department would like to invite you to be the chair of the evaluation committee.
Two other faculty evaluators from TSU will join you to examine the nominated
student researches. The department will be giving you a certificate of appreciation,
transportation allowance, and modest honorarium.
Besides evaluating the theses, may we also request you to prepare for a 30-minute
talk for you to enlighten and guide the students from all year levels within the
department to engage actively in research—from its conduct to presentation, and
eventually publication. Your message will continue to uphold the culture of B. A.
Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia research, foster excellence in the field,
and nurture the spirit of scholarship among Page 209 students in the Department.
Thank you very much for helping us realize this activity. BODY
Here is an example of an email which was written with a direct

content. A copy of the email may also be forwarded to another
recipient (see Cc or carbon copy).
From: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fe A. Chua <elsjournal@tsu.edu.my> To:

Marlene R. Reyes < marlene.reyes@yahoo.com>
Cc: fernaz187@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2018 3:34 PM

Subject: [ELS] Examining the Oral Communication Strategies Used by a
Group of Nepalese Adult Learners in an ESL Context
Dear authors,
I refer to our publication fee policy which was implemented for all papers
submitted after August 2017. Since your papers were submitted after August
2017 and have been accepted for publication, you need to pay the fee of Php
10,000 before we can upload your papers.
Account Number: 78649110801000
Name of Bank: MYC Bank

Beneficiary Name: Tarlac State University
Attached is the detail of payment information.
You are given until 26th February 2018 to make the payment.
When payment has been made, please provide us the following information:
1. Evidence of payment
2. Name
3. Address
B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia
Page 210
Thank you.
English Language Studies Journal:

TSU Press
Name: Mark Kevin Montoya Score: ___________

Course, Year, & Section: 2nd Year A.B. Philosophy Date: December 11, 2020
C omprehension CHECK
I. Identify the following concepts of communication.
_________________ 1. It is a method of analysis for audience that

involves analyzing them in terms of their
sex/gender, age, racial/ethnic/cultural
background, group membership, income,
among others.
_________________ 2. It is also a method which involves identifying
―traits of the audience unique to the speaking
situation at hand.
_________________ 3. This method is one of the most popular methods
in gathering materials for your speech which
involves two people sharing their views.
_________________ 4. It is an organizational pattern of your speech
that follows a time pattern.
_________________ 5. It is a talk based on the revelation of a
succession of images or wonder moments that
build a sense of wonder in your audience.

_________________ 6. It is a part of an email message or memo where
the name and email address of the recipient is
written.
_________________ 7. This part is where the name and email address
of the sender is written.
_________________ 8. It is another part which contains the subject of
your email message or memo.
_________________ 9. It is also a part where you can find the author‘s
reasons for writing the email message or memo
and explains the message thoroughly.
_________________ 10. It generally ends with action information, dates
or deadlines, a summary of the message, or a
closing thought.
II. Answer the following questions:
B. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 212

A.
1. Enumerate three pre-writing activities in speech making.

Explain each.
2. Why are writing skills more important than ever in today‘s

workplace?
B. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 213

A.
3. Discuss the five patterns of organization.
4. Identify and briefly describe the four parts of email messages

and memos.
5. Explain the statement: You have essentially published a memo or an

email once it leaves your hands.
L et’s practice

I. What main points will you consider if you need to persuade your
audience that:
1. smoking is dangerous
.
2. perennial tardiness can harm an employee‘s job performance

.
3. wearing uniform every day is an important company policy.

4. cellphones should be turned off during work hours.
II. Prepare a speech about a topic on current issues, identify your

audience and situation so you can organize an effective speech.
You may need to gather your materials through self-reflection,
interview, or library research. In your speech, be sure to craft your

specific purpose, general idea, and main points.
1. Fill out the following information about your speech.
Specific Purpose
General Idea
Main Points
2. Present your speech. Your teacher will assess your performance

using the oral presentation rubric below.
Oral Presentation Rubric
Category 4 Excellent 3 2 1 Poor Score

Very Good Good
Content The main The main The main The main
points are points are points are points are
explained to a explained to a explained to explained to
very great great extent. some extent. a little
extent. extent.
Organization Ideas are Ideas are Ideas are Ideas lack
arranged arranged arranged in a sequence.
following a mostly in somewhat
logical appropriate disconnected
sequence with order with fashion. The
a beginning, beginning, beginning,
middle, and middle, and middle, or end
end. end. may be deleted.
Verbal Cues Tone, rate, and Tone, rate, and Tone, rate, and Tone, rate,
volume of the volume of the volume of the and volume
voice are voice are voice are of the voice
effectively effectively effectively are

used to a very used to a great used to some effectively

great extent. extent. extent. used to a
little extent.
Non-verbal Gestures, Gestures, Gestures, Gestures,
posture, and posture, and posture, and posture, and
facial facial facial facial
expressions are expressions expressions expressions
expressive, are expressive, are expressive, are
dynamic, and dynamic, and dynamic, and expressive,
natural to a natural to a natural to some dynamic,
very great great extent. extent. and natural
extent. to a little
extent.
Linguistic Use of Use of Use of Explanation
Spillover language language language includes
reflects an indicates basic indicates little or no
elaborated and understanding superficial use of
personalized of the topic. understanding correct
understanding of the topic. language.
of the topic.
Total Score
Adjectival Description

III. If you were to submit a research article for an academic journal,

what would be the message of your email?
Write your email message here:

B A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 219

.
E nrichment
I. Watch two TED shows, then provide the following information.
Data TED Show 1 TED Show 2

Name of Speaker
Date of presentation
Topic
II. Which speaker do you think performed better? Describe her/his

style of presentation.
e - link
Below are some links that will help you hone your
communication skill in various situations:
Handbook for Effective, Professional Communication

http://hplengr.engr.wisc.edu/Prof_Comm.pdf
TED‘s secret to great public speaking

https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video
_powers_global_innovation
The Most Important Thing Cannot be Said

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvsziU1cVHw
President Obama‘s Climate Change Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7mxYzCfkb8
Malala Yousafzai Nobel Peace Prize Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOqIotJrFVM
Types of Delivery for Speeches and Public Speaking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KBD4W1w89c
Types of Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=gCPHdfNaF1M

Lecture 7 Communication For Various Purposes

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Purposive Communication for College Freshmen

―The 1,200 brains inside the heads of 1,200 independent

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 187

do so, something else happens. Rich, neurologically encoded

patterns of information inside the woman‘s brain are somehow

copied and transferred to the 1,200 brains in the audience. These

potentially impacting their behavior years into the future.‖

What happens during a TED Talks event is an ―astounding‖

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 188

 Selecting Your Topic and Identifying Your Purpose

If the speech that you will make is in the context of a classroom

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 189

more about less.‖ No doubt this is applicable in speech writing as

1. Write the purpose statement as a full infinitive phrase, not

2. Express your purpose as a statement, not as a question. Do

3. Avoid figurative language in your purpose statement.

To persuade my audience that invalidating the

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 190

4. Limit your purpose

To persuade my audience that computer addiction

To persuade my audience that broken

5. Make sure your specific

Don’t: purpose is not too vague

Do: audience about New

In addition to these principles, Lucas (1989) also

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 191

1. Does my purpose meet the assignment? If you think it does

2. Can I accomplish my purpose in the time allotted? In

3. Is the purpose relevant to my audience? What will be your

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 192

4. Is the purpose too trivial for my audience? Earlier we

5. Is the purpose too technical for my audience? Sometimes in

 Analyzing Your Audience

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 193

1. Demographic analysis, as the word implies, involves

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 194

2. Situational audience analysis, on the other hand, involves

make them see right away how it is going to be relevant to

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 196

You should also consider in your analysis of

Interviewing has been one of the most popular methods of

life, why not talk with them? In an interview conversation, the

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 197

Interviewing as a research technique, Kvale (1996) adds,

In conducting your interview, it will be most fruitful to heed

1. Concentrate on what the person you are interviewing is

2. Listen attentively as you would when you listen to a friend

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 198

her. For example, preface you sentence with a transition: By

4. Stay quiet. Do not outtalk you source. Do not show that

5. Maintain eye contact with your source. Nod to show you

6. “Listen” to visual signals such as fidgeting, frowning, etc.

7. Be polite in everything. If your source is rambling or

8. Be curious. Do not pretend that you are because it will

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 199

dreaded librarians, who are often depicted in popular culture as strict

B. A. Manzano, M. V. P. Arador, & M. A. P. Ladia Page 200

Just how organization is important is demonstrated by two studies

To organize your speech,

• Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the uses of computer graphics

• General Idea: The important uses of graphics cards are to boost

performance of computers for dedicated applications and to increase

the effectiveness and efficiency of cryptocurrency mining.